Anthony Hernandez vs. Gregory RodriguesW
UFC Fight Night · August 22, 2026 · Golden 1 Center · Main Card 8:00 PM ET
The brief
- The result
- Gregory Rodrigues by Decision (unanimous), R5
- What kind of fight
- Grappler vs. Power Striker
- Finish likelihood
- High
- The line
- Hernandez -198 · Rodrigues +164DraftKings
- The stakes
- Middleweight · Main event
The result
Gregory Rodrigues def. Anthony Hernandez — Decision (unanimous), R5
Gregory Rodrigues spoiled Anthony Hernandez's homecoming with a hard-fought unanimous decision.
Rodrigues's leg kicks were the difference early, buckling Hernandez repeatedly and banking the opening rounds, before Hernandez rallied late with takedowns and clinch pressure to make it competitive.
The judges had it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 for Rodrigues, snapping Hernandez's bid to bounce back at home.
The breakdown below was written before the fight.
The read
Rodrigues finishes fights and Hernandez finishes fights, so a decision feels unlikely here.
Rodrigues's best window is the first ten minutes, when his power is freshest and Hernandez is still working his way into his pace. From round three on, Hernandez's takedowns and top pressure tend to snowball, and Rodrigues has been stopped before when worn down.
Expect Hernandez to survive an early scare and find a late submission, though a Robocop KO is very much live the entire time.
The matchup
This is a classic style clash at the top of the card: Hernandez's bottomless gas tank and takedown chains against Rodrigues's one-shot power.
Hernandez averages nearly six takedowns per fight and will look to drag Robocop into deep water, where his pace has broken almost everyone he's faced. Rodrigues defends 75 percent of takedowns and only needs one clean right hand to change the fight, as Ferreira and Hermansson found out.
The big question is whether Hernandez's chin, cracked by Strickland in February, can survive the early rounds. If it can, the fight tilts heavily his way as Rodrigues fades.
Tale of the tape
| 15-3 | Record | 19-6 |
| 32 | Age | 34 |
| 6'0" | Height | 6'3" |
| 75" | Reach | 75" |
| Orthodox | Stance | Orthodox |
| United States | Country | Brazil |
| MMA Gold | Team | Kill Cliff FC |
The numbers
Career UFC averages. Red bar = statistical edge.
The fighters
Anthony Hernandez 15-3
“Fluffy”
Anthony 'Fluffy' Hernandez is a Northern California native who wears opponents down with a pace most middleweights simply can't match. He chains takedowns together relentlessly, averaging nearly six per fight, and has choked out nine of his fifteen victims. An eight-fight win streak carried him to the edge of title contention before Sean Strickland stopped him in February 2026. Now he returns home to Sacramento looking to prove that loss was a blip, not a decline.
- LSean Strickland · TKO (knee and punches)UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Hernandez · February 21, 2026
- WRoman Dolidze · Submission (rear-naked choke)UFC on ESPN: Dolidze vs. Hernandez · August 9, 2025
- WBrendan Allen · Decision (unanimous)UFC Fight Night 252 · February 22, 2025
Gregory Rodrigues 19-6
“Robocop”
Gregory 'Robocop' Rodrigues is a Brazilian knockout artist who walks opponents down behind heavy hands and a granite chin. Despite being a decorated jiu-jitsu black belt, he prefers to end fights on the feet, with twelve of his nineteen wins coming by knockout. He rides a three-fight win streak into Sacramento, including a highlight-reel one-punch KO of Brunno Ferreira in March 2026. A win over a top-six name like Hernandez would be the biggest of his career.
- WBrunno Ferreira · KO (punch)UFC 326 · March 7, 2026
- WRoman Kopylov · Decision (unanimous)UFC 322 · November 15, 2025
- WJack Hermansson · KO (punches)UFC 317 · June 28, 2025